Ocean Eyes
Encyclopedia
Ocean Eyes is the second full-length album by electropop act Owl City
. It was made available for download on July 14, 2009, on iTunes
, and on September 1, 2009 it was released in stores with a photograph of the Burj Al Arab as its album artwork. A vinyl edition and a two-disc Deluxe Edition of the album was also released. The Deluxe Edition was released on January 26, 2010, and features three new tracks and a remix
of "Hello Seattle". The album features guest vocals by Relient K
vocalist, Matt Thiessen
, on the songs "Fireflies", "Cave In", "The Bird and the Worm" and "Tidal Wave".
that "Cave In" was especially dear to his heart as "that song captures in just a few words, all my hopes and dreams." The album sold approximately 18,000 copies digitally in its debut week. The album reached the top ten in the US peaking at #8. The same week its lead single "Fireflies" topped the Billboard Hot 100
. Eventually, Ocean Eyes climbed to number one on iTunes after the album price was lowered for a limited period of time.
The album has slightly different versions of songs from previous albums, namely "Hello Seattle" from Of June
and "On The Wing" and "The Saltwater Room" from Maybe I'm Dreaming
.
score of 53/100, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". The album gained some positive reviews, including Entertainment Weekly
which gave it a B+ and said that it was filled with memorable choruses and that the highlight song was "Dental Care". Jesus Freak Hideout
also was favorable towards the album; the review highlighted the album's musical style, saying that it had "dreamy lyrics and open soundscapes."
However, on the other hand, Rolling Stone
claimed Ocean Eyes as "disappointing", only awarding it 2/5 stars. The magazine especially criticized the slower songs, saying that forgettable tracks like "On the Wing" were "just mush". Allmusic also gave the album an a total of 2.5/5, stating "Ocean Eyes ultimately winds up too sugary for its own good, though, having focused on dessert without giving its listeners any sort of meaty, substantive entrée. A handful of ballads add some sense of variety to the album's pace, but Owl City is largely a vehicle for the one song Adam Young knows how to make."
slowly until reaching #7 and leaping to #1 the following week. "Fireflies" topped the Billboard Chart for two non-consecutive weeks, as well as topping the iTunes Top 100 Chart for several weeks. "Fireflies" was originally released as a free US iTunes digital download the week the album had its digital release in the US, which could have contributed to the single's massive success. Even now that Fireflies
is three years old, it continues to make the top 10 most downloaded songs in many contries. "Fireflies" also reached No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart on January 24, 2010.
"Vanilla Twilight
" was released as the album's second US single on January 26, 2010 to radio, the same day that the deluxe edition of Ocean Eyes hit stores. During the same week that "Fireflies" topped the Hot 100, "Vanilla Twilight" debuted at #95. It has since re-entered and re-peaked on the Hot 100 at #72 on the week ending January 9, 2010.
"Umbrella Beach
" was released as the album's second UK single on May 17, 2010. "Umbrella Beach" was originally released promotionally on November 19, 2009, preceding the release of the official first single "Fireflies." An exclusive remix created by Kenny Hayes is included on the single release. There is also a music video available for it. Unlike "Fireflies" and "Vanilla Twilight
", Adam does not appear in the video aside from a few photos, which may be disappointing to some.
"Sunburn" was released as a digital-only promotional single for the soundtrack of 90210
in October 2009, and it was also released free to people who bought "Ocean Eyes" during a span of several weeks of December 2009.
Additional musicians and production
Owl City
Owl City is an American electronica musical project by singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Adam Young formed in 2007 in Owatonna, Minnesota. Young created the project while experimenting with music in his parents' basement...
. It was made available for download on July 14, 2009, on iTunes
ITunes
iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad....
, and on September 1, 2009 it was released in stores with a photograph of the Burj Al Arab as its album artwork. A vinyl edition and a two-disc Deluxe Edition of the album was also released. The Deluxe Edition was released on January 26, 2010, and features three new tracks and a remix
Remix
A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....
of "Hello Seattle". The album features guest vocals by Relient K
Relient K
Relient K is an American rock band formed in 1998 in Canton, Ohio by Matt Thiessen, Brian Pittman, and Matt Hoopes during the band's junior year in high school and their time at Malone University...
vocalist, Matt Thiessen
Matt Thiessen
Matthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-American musician, known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released six full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that...
, on the songs "Fireflies", "Cave In", "The Bird and the Worm" and "Tidal Wave".
Background
On July 14, 2009, the song "Fireflies" was chosen as the Single of the Week by the iTunes music store. This led to a huge success as the song was downloaded over 650,000 times and helped the album reach #2 on the US store. This success also led to the record company pushing back the release date of the physical copy of the album from July 28, 2009 to September 1, 2009. Adam Young, the founder of Owl City told The SunThe Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
that "Cave In" was especially dear to his heart as "that song captures in just a few words, all my hopes and dreams." The album sold approximately 18,000 copies digitally in its debut week. The album reached the top ten in the US peaking at #8. The same week its lead single "Fireflies" topped the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. Eventually, Ocean Eyes climbed to number one on iTunes after the album price was lowered for a limited period of time.
The album has slightly different versions of songs from previous albums, namely "Hello Seattle" from Of June
Of June
Of June is the first release by synthpop act Owl City. It was uploaded by Adam Young on MySpace.Following the surprise success of Owl City's second album, Ocean Eyes, Of June was pressed and re-released by Universal Republic on March 30, 2010....
and "On The Wing" and "The Saltwater Room" from Maybe I'm Dreaming
Maybe I'm Dreaming
Maybe I'm Dreaming is the debut album by American synthpop act, Owl City. It was released December 16, 2008. Despite having been self-released and not recorded by any major producer, it managed to reach the top 20 of the Billboard Electronic Music Album Chart...
.
Critical reception
Ocean Eyes has received mixed reviews from critics, based on an aggregate MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
score of 53/100, indicating "Mixed or average reviews". The album gained some positive reviews, including Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
which gave it a B+ and said that it was filled with memorable choruses and that the highlight song was "Dental Care". Jesus Freak Hideout
Jesus Freak Hideout
Jesus Freak Hideout is a Christian music website. The website specializes in reviewing, previewing, and selling Christian albums. The website is known for its album reviews, independent music, artist interviews, concert dates and ministry through devotionals and prayer...
also was favorable towards the album; the review highlighted the album's musical style, saying that it had "dreamy lyrics and open soundscapes."
However, on the other hand, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
claimed Ocean Eyes as "disappointing", only awarding it 2/5 stars. The magazine especially criticized the slower songs, saying that forgettable tracks like "On the Wing" were "just mush". Allmusic also gave the album an a total of 2.5/5, stating "Ocean Eyes ultimately winds up too sugary for its own good, though, having focused on dessert without giving its listeners any sort of meaty, substantive entrée. A handful of ballads add some sense of variety to the album's pace, but Owl City is largely a vehicle for the one song Adam Young knows how to make."
Singles
"Fireflies" was released as the album's first single on July 14, 2009 in the US and on January 8, 2010 in the UK. It climbed the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
slowly until reaching #7 and leaping to #1 the following week. "Fireflies" topped the Billboard Chart for two non-consecutive weeks, as well as topping the iTunes Top 100 Chart for several weeks. "Fireflies" was originally released as a free US iTunes digital download the week the album had its digital release in the US, which could have contributed to the single's massive success. Even now that Fireflies
Fireflies
Fireflies is a novel by Shiva Naipaul originally published in 1970. It was his first book, a comic novel set in Trinidad. In an essay in An Unfinished Journey, Naipaul described how in 1968 as a final year student at Oxford University studying Chinese, he had been moved to write down a sentence,...
is three years old, it continues to make the top 10 most downloaded songs in many contries. "Fireflies" also reached No.1 on the Official UK Singles Chart on January 24, 2010.
"Vanilla Twilight
Vanilla Twilight
"Vanilla Twilight" is a song by Owl City. The song was released as the second single from his second studio album Ocean Eyes,. "Vanilla Twilight" attained chart placement prior to the release date, following the success of Owl City's previous single "Fireflies".-Music video:The music video for...
" was released as the album's second US single on January 26, 2010 to radio, the same day that the deluxe edition of Ocean Eyes hit stores. During the same week that "Fireflies" topped the Hot 100, "Vanilla Twilight" debuted at #95. It has since re-entered and re-peaked on the Hot 100 at #72 on the week ending January 9, 2010.
"Umbrella Beach
Umbrella Beach
"Umbrella Beach" is a song by Owl City. The song was released as the third single from his second album Ocean Eyes. It is the second UK single from the album and had a May 16, 2010, release date in the US, and was released May 17, 2010, in the UK.The album cover is a picture of the beach at Santa...
" was released as the album's second UK single on May 17, 2010. "Umbrella Beach" was originally released promotionally on November 19, 2009, preceding the release of the official first single "Fireflies." An exclusive remix created by Kenny Hayes is included on the single release. There is also a music video available for it. Unlike "Fireflies" and "Vanilla Twilight
Vanilla Twilight
"Vanilla Twilight" is a song by Owl City. The song was released as the second single from his second studio album Ocean Eyes,. "Vanilla Twilight" attained chart placement prior to the release date, following the success of Owl City's previous single "Fireflies".-Music video:The music video for...
", Adam does not appear in the video aside from a few photos, which may be disappointing to some.
Digital singles
"Strawberry Avalanche" and "Hot Air Balloon" were released as digital-only promotional singles in June 2009, leading up to the release of the album, though they did not appear on the album."Sunburn" was released as a digital-only promotional single for the soundtrack of 90210
90210 (TV series)
90210 is an American teen drama television series developed by Rob Thomas, Jeff Judah and Gabe Sachs, and the fourth series in the Beverly Hills, 90210 franchise created by Darren Star. 90210 is the first series produced by CBS Productions under the company's re-launch, but is now produced by CBS...
in October 2009, and it was also released free to people who bought "Ocean Eyes" during a span of several weeks of December 2009.
Standard edition
Deluxe edition
Personnel
Owl City- Adam Young – vocals, keyboards, guitars, drums, producer, engineer
Additional musicians and production
- Breanne DurenBreanne DürenBreanne Düren is an American musician, most notable for her work with electronic music project Owl City and her own solo work.-Early Years:Born as Breanne Elizabeth Dürenberger on October 9, 1987 , she shortened her name to "Breanne Düren" during college for performance purposes. As a child,...
– additional vocals on tracks 5 & 8 - Austin TofteSwimming With DolphinsSwimming with Dolphins is a synthpop band from Minnesota, US. It was formed in 2008 by Austin Tofte and Adam Young, of Owl City. After gaining considerable mainstream popularity, Adam Young left the band to focus on Owl City. The band released one EP, called Ambient Blue. Since Young left the...
– additional vocals on track 8 - Matthew ThiessenMatt ThiessenMatthew Arnold Thiessen is a Canadian-American musician, known for being co-founder, lead singer, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for the Christian rock band Relient K. With Relient K, he has released six full-length albums, including three that were certified Gold, and three that...
– additional vocals on tracks on 1, 2, 9, 12 & 14, production on tracks 2, 9, 12 - Melisa Morgan – additional vocals on tracks 7 & 10
- Jolie LindholmJolie LindholmJolie Lindholm is a musician from Florida, best known for her providing background vocals on numerous Dashboard Confessional albums as well as the lead vocalist in The Rocking Horse Winner...
– additional vocals on track 7 - Phil Peterson – cello on track 1, 4, 8, 9 & 10
- Steve Bursky – producer, management
- Ted JensenTed JensenTed Jensen is an American recording engineer. Jensen is the chief mastering engineer at Sterling Sound. He started his career as a mastering engineer in 1976 and is currently the most active Mastering Engineer in the industry...
– mastering - Christopher Kornmann – art direction
- Imran Khan – artwork
- John GoodmansonJohn GoodmansonJohn Goodmanson is an American recording engineer and indie rock record producer.-Selected discography:*Aiden "Conviction " *Simple Plan "Crash and Burn"...
– audio mixer
Weekly charts
| Chart (2009–10) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
14 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
18 |
| Denmark Albums Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
36 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
42 |
| French Albums Chart | 88 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
16 |
| Japanese Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
17 |
| German Albums Chart | 7 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart New Zealand New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga... |
5 |
| South African Albums Chart Recording Industry of South Africa The Recording Industry of South Africa is a trade association that represents the collective interests of producers of music sound recordings, major and independent record labels in South Africa. Formerly known as the Association of the South African Music Industry it was established in the 1970s... |
7 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
39 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 93 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
7 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
8 |
| U.S. Billboard Dance/Electronic Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rock Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Alternative Albums | 1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (2010) | Position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
32 |